Named for a Seattle bluff, and a surveyor's mistake.
A survey captain sailing Puget Sound saw blossoming trees crowning a bluff and named the place Magnolia. They were madronas. The name stuck anyway, and today magnolias really do line the neighborhood's streets.
Every spring, Seattle stops for its cherry blossoms, the way Japan does for hanami: people gathering for something that only lasts a moment. We design for that kind of moment.